Truths
by UnrequitedLike
Summary: We know the trio’s story, and even most of the marauders’. But what about the generation in between? At a time when everything is said to be restored, one girl must face prejudice and false accusations: Nymphadora Tonks had a story too.
1. Back To The Start

**Author's Note: Hello again, I'm back! This time with a different take on Tonks' story. If you're wondering about 'Marauders', I currently have it on hold for the moment as it hasn't been getting too many reads/reviews. This newest story, "Truths", has taken up all of my attention as it has been going through my mind for months now. As you read, you may pick up on a slight similarity it has to a certain book (though I won't say which one!). Yes, it inspired my idea for Tonks and her first year at Hogwarts, and I hope you enjoy my version.  
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**Also, yes eventually this will lead to another story I already have in my head which is Remus/Tonks. Although Remus is the main focus in this 'prologue' he won't be showing up again anytime soon, if at all (:[ I know, It's sad. I love him too). But fear not, he WILL be in sequels to 'Truths' all in good time. My last note is that since we know virtually nothing about this time period at Hogwarts there are a good amount of OCs which normally I just cannot tolerate. HOWEVER, my originals actually have decent character development and aren't Mary Sues or Gary Stus, so please give them a chance. Enjoy this little preview of my fiction and please please please review 3333  
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_October 31_

An owl swooped past a window so quickly it might have been the wind. Evening had come and overstayed its welcome, sitting upon the blackened town with a stubborn persistence. The only presence out was the rushing sighs escaping from trees on a night that should have been the most lively of all throughout the year but due to not so recent circumstances, it was quiet and alone with only the hoot of that one bird off in the distance.

A streetlight flickered as if waking up from sleep, illuminating a figure standing by the road as still as the trees surrounding them. A man no more than 22 sighed in the silence with the weariness of an old, despairing man instead of the young one he was. His silhouette began to move forward and up towards the shape that loomed ahead, the only visible sign of light for miles.

The house was normal looking enough, despite the fact it was the only one nearby, with a glow illuminating from each window and the shadow of a figure flickering in and out of sight. It gave the impression of being from another time period, one full of Victorian style but with the homey feeling of a much smaller apartment. The landscape did not seem to end in any direction with the house growing farther away with every step taken.

The owl in the neighboring tree took off suddenly, as if it had something more important to do than gaze down at the lone person now approaching the front steps to the door. Every shade had been drawn and the constant flickering suggested that the only light inside was coming from lit candles. A sharp clattering startled the silence as the shudders swung back and forth, colliding with the glass windows fueled by the restless breeze.

A fist knocking once on wood resulted in several doves escaping from the branches of a towering oak and heading off into the ebony sky. The door creaked open, yet still showed nothing more than faint embers of light.

"Has something happened?" a low voice whispered before the door widened only the slightest bit.

The young man shifted his weight to another foot, his traveling cloak sliding to the other shoulder. He seemed to be contemplating his words and the silence took over for a few moments more.

"Yes," he finally spoke and the voice was hoarse, as if it had not been used in years. A cough was next, the answer and solution to the gravelly voice before it spoke again. "I…must come in. You must know something."

"What is it?" the much higher voice hissed with obvious concern.

"I must come in," the man repeated slowly, refusing to say anymore. The grey wooden door swung inwards slowly but surely, and the figure disappeared into that glowing light kept prisoner inside the home.

Inside, the candlelight illuminated the man; His boyish face contrasted with his tall physique, which hunched over slightly as if he were cold. There was nothing particularly distinctive about him, save for a variety of scars that randomly marked his face. The lines over his forehead were deepened, giving him a constant worried look but at the moment this was only due to the news he was about to give.

The other voice was revealed to be a woman, also statuesque but older. She immediately closed and locked the door with a wave of her wand the moment the man had entered. Her light brown hair fell into her face as she inspected the lock for utmost security and as a distraction from something she obviously did not want to hear.

"All right, you are inside. Now will you tell me what this is all about? Honestly Remus, you have me quite anxious." As she looked up at him, her blue eyes were reflected in the moonlight, full of tension.

The man named Remus turned away to stare at the covered window just as another person came down the stairs directly behind the two.

"Who is it 'Dromeda?" A rumbling voice questioned above them, with each step the large man took. The last stair creaked, as it always did, when the other man at last reached the bottom. His brow was furrowed in confusion from the late night visit which was not at all customary in the presence of happy or absent news.

"Remus," she answered distractedly. "Ted, let's all go sit in the dining room and talk."

"Merlin, it's almost 4 o'clock in the morning, Remus." Ted yawned, examining his pocket watch which he had pulled from within his shirt. He ran a hand through his blonde hair before leading the others out to the kitchen.

As Remus followed the couple, he realized that the light had been coming from the dining room only, as the rest of their house was completely dark. A stray newspaper lay on the mahogany table, a few papers torn out for no apparent reason. Remus frowned, choosing to focus on what the papers had said than the two people watching him with wide eyes and curious glances.

He sank into a chair next to the table and the other two followed suit. Nothing was said as they waited for Remus to begin whenever he decided it was time to do so. His eyes wandered around the room; the huge throw rug that lay on the floor which was something he had once sat upon next to the fire laughing with his friends, a television sat against the wall forgotten and really only for conventional purposes, and at last the fireplace that always seemed to burn when he came over.

And then his gaze came to rest on the framed pictures of Ted and Andromeda's daughter that lined the walls; one of her sitting on a swing at the park he knew was ten minutes away. He had remembered taking a walk down there once when he had babysat her with…

As if to break free from the phrase that followed, his eyes turned to the next picture. It was the most recent one, showing her beaming right before she headed off to her first year at Hogwarts. Her shoulder length hair was brown, unusually common for her and she smiled broadly, startlingly resembling…

He came to look at the last picture and felt his throat close up. There he was. The last photo was taken less than a month ago, with Dora laughing with the dark haired, handsome man as they played chess on the rug that was sitting not three feet away from Remus now.

He forced himself to look back at the Tonkses who now looked positively sick with worry. He could no longer bear to scare them any longer. As much as he longed to keep the knowledge of the night's events to himself, he had always known he would be the one to report to the small family. Dumbledore had merely confirmed it when an emergency meeting had been held not more than an hour ago.

After this, Remus knew what was to come next. He would leave; travel as far away as he possibly could to any neighboring country that did not mock him with his own past. Germany, Ireland, any place that would take him---and had a good amount of thick forests he could immerse himself in when the time came.

He had just opened his mouth to tell them the truth when Andromeda could not hold it in any longer.

"It isn't Dora is it? Nothing happened at the school, right?!" Remus managed to shake his head and saw her visibly relax. Of course they would want to know if she was alright; More obviously, of course they would worry about her. She was their only child and the bulk of their concern in every situation.

"Then what--" Remus caught off Andromeda before she could finish her question.

"It's Sirius." He said finally and surprisingly sounded more sure of himself than he had all night. As he did so, he vowed that this would be the last time he would utter that name. He did not think he could bear to hear or say it without his blood boiling in anger any longer.

The two parents looked at one another, obviously not expecting what Remus had just told them. With a deep breath, he launched into everything he had found out from the Order in the last few hours each word hitting their ears with a deafening slap; the lies, the betrayal, the plot for complete superiority, and finally, the ultimate act to secure the plan. All fueled and made possible by the one person who had been given responsibility for three lives. Their friend, family and companion. Sirius Black was a murderous traitor.

And after he had done such terrible things, what came next? A last ditch attempt to escape without repercussion. He had killed a whole slew of muggles and wizards alike, including the only other friend Remus had left: Peter Pettigrew.

These truths came crashing down into the couple's ears and shock marked their faces, the betrayal reaching them as well with its outstretched hands.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Remus stood slowly composing himself not to behave irrationally as he had previously that night. He did not see the looks of anger and grief displayed on Andromeda and Ted's faces, but instead saw a vision of his, Sirius's, and Peter's flat as it had been before he'd left: every book torn from the shelves and thrown violently to the ground, a broken mirror he had thrown in anger, numerous pictures still left singed in his fireplace, and the table overturned, spilling all the contents onto the floor.

The only thing that had been left alone were two framed pictures, each of a family: The first, two serene parents with their grinning, dark haired daughter who he was now at the home of, and the second of a younger couple, the man with untidy hair and glasses, the woman with red hair and startling green eyes holding a bundle in her arms with a sleeping baby boy. Both families torn apart by one man.

Leaving the two behind, Remus made his way upstairs where he had one thing left to do before departing. As he climbed the stairs and saw the door to a bedroom slightly ajar come into view, he felt the guilt draining in his chest. When he was hurt or scared, he had a tendency to leave immediately but the person he was about to leave a message to didn't have that option. She was much younger and still had much left to face.

Minutes later, Remus reappeared to the stone-faced adults and bid them farewell before sweeping back out into the night. They would not see him anytime soon, they knew, and did not question what he had left for them and their daughter to discover upstairs nor did they blame him.

He was young and had no attachments to keep him stationary in one place especially after the events that had unfolded tonight. Looking at one another, they silently grasped for ways to explain to their youngest the truth in the gentlest way, if even possible, and dreaded it with every fiber of their being.

The fine, oak desk in Nymphadora's room sat mutely, mourning the absence of its owner. A note had been hastily scrawled on a scrap piece of parchment and left atop the workspace; the apology for another absence and a quick explanation for the girl.

_Dora, _

_By the time you read this, I won't be here any longer. I have been given permission to travel abroad for awhile. I'm sorry you weren't here so that I could say a proper goodbye but I didn't have much time. Your parents will tell you the truth, as you are owed, since I could not. I do not know when we will meet again but I trust that you will be strong, as you have always been. Take care. _

_Yours, Remus_

Miles away, a girl that had started her first year of school, a girl with her innocence still intact, a girl with her trust not yet broken, slept soundly without a clue of the restoration of the wizarding world and the destruction of her own.


	2. We'll Just Have To Face It

**Author's Note: Due to my fantastic readers, I worked extra fast to get this chapter up (lucky for you I had a mental health day to work on it.) The last chapter was hard for me to right but the minute I settled into Tonks' point of view it was like being back home. **

**Tonks may seem a little out of character to you all in this story but keep in mind: 1) she's much younger and 2) she's just suffered a fairly huge shock to both her and her family. You will see in later chapters (and a little of this one) why it's affected her so much. Read and Review, and I love you :]  
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_One week later_

**Background on Traitor Leads to Confirmation and Further Doubts**

By: Betty Braithwaite

_Suspected of being involved or at least knowledgeable are those who were common and friendly with the names have been undisclosed, said persons have been known to host and house Black from time to time. _

_In other news of the case, the accused's brother was found to have also been involved in Death Eater activities prior to this disastrous occurrence, which had it been discovered, could have prevented such. However, the same could be said of the persons mentioned above being that…_

Not being able to withstand such a blatantly accusing article any longer, Tonks threw it to the ground of her compartment without another word read.

She now understood why her parents had kept her from reading the _Prophet_ throughout her stay back at home. Of course they hadn't explained themselves as was usual, instead saying that the paper contained details they didn't think appropriate for Tonks to know, as she was too closely connected with the perpetrator.

She sighed angrily and stared out the window of the train, the scenery rushing by as fast as wind. Rolling mountains and thick green fields that never seemed to cease signaled they were close---closer than they had been in the past few hours to her school. Hissing whispers came spewing from the next compartment over and became hard to ignore.

Tonks turned her head ever so slightly and made out a few phrases being spoken in the lowest of voices.

"Her cousin….."

"Her mother's I thought?..."

"…..would visit all the time..."

"Scandal…."

"…Do you think?"

"The paper?..."

"Possibly."

An intense pain shot through the palm of her hand and Tonks looked down to see her fist clutched tightly. Releasing her hold, she saw that her fingernails had dug into her skin so hard it had broken the skin.

Like a touchstone, she pulled out a folded square of parchment that had obviously been read many times due to the creases on the sides. Tonks didn't open it; there was no need, as she had memorized it… but one line came to mind like a mantra.

_Be strong, as you always have been. _

And yet, he had left hadn't he? Not much of an encouragement. One would almost call it hypocrisy if she hadn't admired him so much.

Feeling only slightly daring, she turned her head to look out the window of her compartment and met the gaze of light blue eyes staring from the opposite side of the aisle, separated only by glass and a sliding door. Theirs was slightly ajar, explaining how Tonks had been able to hear their hisses almost clear as day.

Annemarie Mckinnon and some other 1st year Gryffindors were staring blankly back, their eyes wide with fear. Tonks couldn't tell if leaving the door open had been on purpose or not as she looked terrified. But then again, Annemarie had always had that deer-in-the-headlights look. What was different was that she was actually speaking now.

One of the other girls that Tonks did not know turned to look swiftly back at Annemarie and raised her eyebrows scornfully. And in return, Annemarie glanced back at her and widened her already huge eyes in agreement.

Tonks had seen and heard enough. Propping her foot up on the seats opposite her, she sank into the velvet comfort that was currently the only kind provided.

So they believed the suspicions, did they? That would explain why this was the first time Tonks had had an empty compartment all to herself without anyone stopping in once to sit with her. It was a good thing she had decided to disobey her parents' wishes and read the _Prophet_, or she would have been in the dark and without preparation when the time came to face the rest of the school.

Her hand tightened around the little fold of parchment she kept always and turned to look back out the window where the landscape would not mock or scorn, she hoped.

Annemarie had always been kind, if a little reserved. While she wasn't the friendliest, nothing about her had ever been cold. The Mckinnons were a widespread family that was highly respected in the wizarding world, and huge supporters of the Anti-You-Know-Who movement.

Their names had been among the list of the deceased on Halloween, apparently attempting to disarm Black when he had finally gone mad and on his spree. Annemarie and her father had been the only to escape the fate, from what she had heard from her mother, after he had taken her and gone on the run.

It was later discovered that Marlene Mckinnon, Annemarie's aunt, had been an active member of the resistance movement and her whole family had been targeted resulting in their deaths. Tonks had overheard this news from her parents when they had been whispering intently to one another, not noticing their barely concealed daughter lingering in the entrance to the kitchen.

It was evident that Annemarie, who had once been a friend and schoolmate of Tonks', was more than happy to go along with the deception-scandal-agenda. It was very unlike Tonks to not speak up, especially in defense of herself and her family but as she pressed her forehead to the cool glass window she found she did not have the heart or energy to do so anymore.

Behind Tonks, she heard the sound of sliding glass as the door to her lone compartment opened. She turned and before her eyes saw a girl she did not recognize ever having gone to Hogwarts, as far as she knew.

The girl was already clad in her school robes and gave Tonks a warm smile before sliding all the way into the small compartment and shutting the door behind her. Without a word, she plopped into the seat across from Tonks (pushing her luggage over a bit to make room to do so).

"Hi, I'm Jezebel. I just moved here, well moved back really. I lived here two years ago but my parents pulled me out of school so we could do some traveling. Even though it was really for safety. A lot of people did that though, did you? Are you new too?" She waited for a moment, giving Tonks a chance to speak and a chance to brush her own stick-straight hair back.

"I…no," was all Tonks managed to get out.

"Oh well then I guess you've already been to Hogwarts for a few months. I'm so glad they gave you a chance to go home and celebrate with your families." At that, Tonks forced a rather fake smile. Yes, celebrate.

"I mean, when I heard they would provide the train to and from school for the surprise holiday I couldn't have been happier. Cause, I haven't been to school yet at all, you know?" She grinned and set her bag down next to her feet.

"Cool shoes," Tonks nodded, referring to her boots. They were the kind that looked way too shiny to be worn yet, and it was all she could think of to comment on at the moment.

"Thanks! I got them as a going away present. So what's your name anyway?" She pulled out a piece of gum from the purse at her side and popped it in her mouth. "Want some?"

"Uh, no thanks," Tonks replied shuffling her feet back in a way to avoid the question that she always dreaded and was always inevitable. "My name's…"

At that moment the train began to slow and Jezebel jumped up grabbing Tonks's arm. "Oh my gosh, we're here aren't we? That was quite fast, I only went to seven compartments." She tucked her sandy hair behind her ears and looked directly at Tonks. "I was already sorted last week. When my parents found out I could reenter school we went directly to Dumbledore and he admitted me. I'm in Ravenclaw," she added and Tonks wasn't sure whether to be joyous or disappointed.

Yes this Jezebel was slightly annoying, but she was also the first person to speak to Tonks the whole duration of the ride. The fact that she was in the same house as her could be a good or bad thing; depending on how her housemates treated her.

A prefect with glasses and a look of authority rapped on their door only to stick his head in the doorway and say, "Time to unload the train. You must be first years," he said pompously. _Thanks,_ Tonks thought facetiously. "I advise you to follow me then."

Tonks grabbed her bags without another word and began to make her way out of the compartment and towards the fresh air outside. Jezebel followed closely behind chattering all the way.

"This is so exciting; Garrison Academy was all right I suppose but I mean it's a muggle school and I was _so_ behind in everything except reading and writing. I couldn't say anything about being a witch and now I'll be going to a whole school of them!" She babbled on as Tonks stepped down onto the concrete where students everywhere were dressed in their school robes and hugging each other after being gone a good seven days.

Tonks searched through the crowd for Helen Brocklehurst, the girl that had become her friend at Hogwarts in the short time they had known each other. She spotted no sign of the bouncy, strawberry blonde hair that she associated her with and instead accidentally bumped someone passing by.

"Sorry," she mumbled turning only to face a third year boy who scowled and inched away from her quickly.

"Traitor," she thought she heard him mutter before catching up with his friends who were looking at her with narrowed eyes.

Tonks blinked, surprised by the frankness of the boy but chose to ignore it, turning back to Jezebel. She hadn't noticed anything and was too busy following the others to the carriages. Tonks quickly caught up with her, pretending to not notice the obvious staring coming from practically every student.

Her suspicions had been confirmed that yes, everyone did read _The Daily Prophet_ and more importantly yes, they knew whom they had been talking about. It probably didn't help that once upon a time, Tonks herself had received letters from Black at school, back when he had been just Sirius.

With a set face and determined stride, Tonks walked head held up high and fists clenched. She was only a first year and had never set foot in the Divination classroom but a sudden premonition came to her as easily and swiftly as her transformations did:

Maybe, just maybe, this would change everything.


End file.
